Die-block.



WILLIAM n. FoRsYTH, oFsWAMPseorT, Massecnnsnras, Assienon .To WILLIAMFQRSYTH @ONS `C9ivalelrr.f0.1i ,WEsT LYNN, MASSAQHUSETTS, A CQRBORMION0F MAS.se@HassleS-v To all mayiconccm."

a citizen of the `United .Statesfand resident of Swampscott, in thecounty of Essex and State of. IMassachusetts7 have invented certain newand useful lmprovem'ents .1n D le- Blocks, of` which` thefollowing ,is aspecification.

' This inventionrelatesto die blocks which are used indie presses for`dieing out leather or other sheet material, and especiallyto that class`of die blocks .which comprisel a plurality of wood sections'andwooddowels.

The invention consistsinthe combination of arrangements of the vdowels,on the one hand, andof the grain of. thedowels and sections, -on theother hand, whereby. .the dowels may sustain the working stresses asbetween the sections to keep the working surfaces ofthe several sectionsflush with each other, and whereby the grainof the dowels, as wellasthat of the sections,'shall extend from top to bottom of the block.` l

Of the accompanying drawings, ywhich illustrate the inventiont-Figure lrepresents an elevation of a plurality ofV wood sections of a die blockhaving wood dowels arranged to sustain the workingstresses as betweenthe sections. Fig. Zrepresents afperspective view ofA a' wood dowelshaped ;tlo` conformv to the grooves formedin :the wood sections asshown by Fig.- 1. Fig. 3 representsan elevation ,of a plurality `of woodsections which differ from those shown in Fig. 1 in thatl thegroovestherein ygare .undercut i to hold the sections .against lateralseparation. F 1g. `4 represents a perspective View `ofa wood dowelshapedto conform to the under-` cuty grooves shown in Fig. 3L z.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts wherever theyoccur. f

Referring first to Fig. '1,-a plurality of wood sections 10 are arrangedside byside incontiguous relation to form a die block. There. may be-asmany` sections as may be necessary to provide a block of theirequiredsize. `The sections Vare arranged in such manner that: the grain of thewoodextends from thetop surfacell to the bottom surface 12. VVTheconfrontingportions 4of `the Specieatioiioif Letters ZPatent.

` plasmon.

Application filed February 21,:1912 Serial No. 679,202. 1

several sections are formed with registering grooves .which extendtransverselyV of the grain to provide stress-sustaining shoulders 15 and16. The said shoulders and the surfaces 14 of eachpair of registeringgrooves form a chamber for a stress-sustaining dowel 13. The shoulders15 and 1'6 intersect the grain ofthe sections, and in this forni theyarerectangular.

Vood dowels such as that shownby Fig. 2 are used with sections groovedas shown by Fig. 1. Each dowel is shaped to conform to the chamberformedby a pair of registering grooves in two contiguoussections 10. Thepeculiar `thing about the dowels is that their grain ends'are exposedatthe surfaces 18 and 19 which engage the shoulders 15 and 16 of thesections. The surfaces 17, 17 of the dowels engage the surfaces` 14, 14of thesections. The grain ends of the. dowels are thus causedto occupyabutting end-to-end relationvvith thegrain endswhich are exposed at theshoulders 15 and 16. The significance of this arrange-v ment is that thedie blockis characterized by a uniform arrangement of.. grain in bothsections and dowels, in consequence of which anyswelling or shrinkingaction of the wood willbe uniform inthe sections and dowels and willavoid separation of the sections from this cause. In all die blockshaving stress-sustaining dowels as hitherto made, the direction of thegrain, of the `dowels has, so far as I am aware, been transverse to thedirection of the grain ofthesections, and has caused separation .of thesections in con sequenceV of swellingand shrinking. Such separation isaccounted for as follows. Referringfirst to the 4sections 1,0, 10, aswelling actionof the wood `causes the surfaces 14, 14 to move away fromeach other,.and a shrinking action causes them to approach, each other.The distance between thewshoulders 15 and 16, however, doesnot vary,because swelling and shrinking does not `operate in the directionof the:grain of the Wood. Now, if the registering grooves'are occupied by a1dowel whose grain extends horizontal and parallel to the planes ofdivision of the sections, aswelling action` will causeia normalhorizontal swelling which will be commensurate with the .separatingmovement ofV the-surfaces 14. At the same time there Vwill be a tendencyfor the dowels to swell vertically vagainst the shoulders and 16; butsince the latter do not move apart under any swelling action, thevertical swelling tendency of thedowels must find relief in some otherdirection. Hence the normal horizontal swelling of the dowels isaugmented byV the tendency to swell vertically, and the aggregatehorizontal swelling of the dowels 1s Ytherefore substantially greaterthan the horizontal swelling of the sectionsbetween the planes ofthesurfaces 14. The contiguous faces ofthe sections would thus be forcedapart .by the swelling of a dowel formed andarranged as the practicehitherto has dictated. f Y

Some manufacturers have ydefeated the splitting oi' yspreading actionabove explained by making the dowels considerably smaller than :thegroovesin which they are arranged, thus allowing clearance forverticalswelling of the dowels. The objection Y to such practice is thatit also defeats the primary purpose of the dowels, which is to sustainthev Working stresses as between the sections and Vmaintain the sectionsin flush relation at the working surface. I undesirable resultwouldfollow if the sections and dowels as hetherto assembled containedthe maximum degree of moisture when assembled and .should undergo ashrinking action. In thatcase there would be a-horizontal shrinking ofthe sections between the planes of the surfaces 14, which would causesaid surfaces-to approach each other. The shoulders 15 and 16, however,

would not approach each other, and the dowel receiving chamber wouldcontract horizontally but not vertically. The dowel, with its grainextending horizontally, would not only shrink in accordance with themovement of the surfaces 14, but it would shrink vertically, and eventhough the dowel be fitted tightly in the beginning, it would recedefronithe shoulders 15 and 16 and pershoulders 315", 16", and verticalsurfaces 14",

' dowels.

Another while the dowels 13x are shaped to conform to said registeringgrooves. r'The grain of the dowels'lX 'extends vertically as does thatof the sections 10X. The dowels thus "serve to holdthe sections positieral separation.' i M Y In theformshown by Figxjl it would bedesirableto use' glue Yuponlthe contiguous faces of the sections 1O'andalso upon the It would be desirable also to use glue in thesame mannerVwithgthe form shownby F ig. 3; but since the sections l()x inFig. 3 areheld positivelyagainst lateral separation, by thev dowels, glue -mightbe rely .against lat: l

omitted. without depriving the blockwholly of means for holding thesections against eachother. 'Y

[The described arrangement ofzthegrain,V according to my presentinvention, gives the dowels a greater stress-sustaining power than thedowels'would haveif their grain extended horizontally according toformer practice. This is because there is a'shearing -1 i tendencyasbetween the diagonal stress-sustaining shouldersof contiguous sectionsof the block. Y This shearing strain is sustained kby the grain endsofmy: dowels, whereas if the grain extended horizontally the shearingstrain would Vbe uponthe sides of ,the grain and there would not be somany grains vavail-` able to sustain it.

Having'thusexplained vthe nature of my said-invention and describeda'way of constructing and using the same, althoughV withoutattempting tosetforth all theforms in which: iti maybe made! or all thei'modes ofVits use, lwhat I claimfisl l.` A'die block'comprisingwood sectionsarranged side by side in contiguous relation,

the-grain ofY said'section's extending from top to bottom, theconfronting faces of said sections `having .coperative 4registeringgrooves extending transversely fof saidV grain and providingstressisustainingshoul` ders intersecting said grain, 1 and Vwood dowelseach occupying apair of sa'idregis-` tering grooves and conformingthereto, the

iio

grain of Said dowelsfextending transversely of said grooves andysubstantially parallel to*` the grain of said sections, whereby thegrain ends of said dowels arein abuttingend to end relation withshoulders v Y Y 2. A die block comprising wood sections arranged side byside in contiguousl relation, the grain of said 7sectionsfextending fromtop to bottom, the confronting faces ofsaid sections having coperativeregisteringundercut groovesv extending transversely of said grain andYproviding undercut stresssustainingslioulders intersecting said grain,and wood dowels each occupyingy a pair of thegrain` ends of said saidregistering grooves and conformingto the undercut formation of thelatter, the In testimony whereof I have affixed my gran'of said dowelsextending-transversely signature, n presence of two witnesses.

of said rooves and substantially parallel to the glg'an of saidsections, whereby the WILLIAM R' FORSYTH' grain ends of said dowels arevin abutting Witnesses; end to end relation Wththe grain ends of JOHN T.LONG, said shoulders. NELLIE S. LONG.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by ddressingthe Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C.

